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The Vatican spokesman on Friday condemned as "unworthy and petty" the leaks of documents detailing power struggles inside the Holy See and the expenditures of Pope Francis' new finance czar. In a cover story Friday, Italy's L'Espresso weekly detailed opposition to Cardinal George Pell's financial reform and revealed that his Secretariat for the Economy had racked up a half million euros (dollars) in expenditures in the last six months. Some of the expenses seemed legitimate, but one was a 2,508-euro ($2,800) bill from Rome's swanky Gamarelli tailor. The Vatican spokesman, Rev. Federico Lombardi, condemned the leaks as illegal and called the attacks on...

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The Vatican spokesman on Friday condemned as "unworthy and petty" the leaks of documents detailing power struggles inside the Holy See and the expenditures of Pope Francis' new finance czar. In a cover story Friday, Italy's L'Espresso weekly...

Austria was enthusiastic when Saudi Arabia said it was ready to bankroll a center for religious and cultural understanding in Vienna — but two years after its launch, the desert kingdom's foray into promoting a more open society abroad while continuing to...

Pope Francis welcomed 20 new cardinals Saturday into the elite club of churchmen who will elect his successor and immediately delivered a tough-love message, telling them to put aside their pride, jealousy and self-interest and instead exercise charity....

The Vatican did something it has never done before by giving a group of U.S. gay and lesbian Catholics VIP seats at Pope Francis' weekly general audience Wednesday. But in a sign that the welcome wasn't all it could have been, the New Ways Ministry...

He's met with a transgender man, told Catholics not to breed like rabbits and washed the feet of a Muslim woman. While all this may sound like he's ready to overturn dogma, Pope Francis' real interest is geopolitics. In less than two years in...

Pope Francis urged his cardinals Thursday to cooperate in reforming the outdated and dysfunctional Vatican bureaucracy, saying the overhaul will help him govern the Catholic Church better and spread the faith more effectively. Francis summoned cardinals...

In a landmark event that could have many holding their breath, Pope Francis has agreed to address a joint meeting of Congress this fall. That sets the stage for an oration by an outspoken pontiff whose views on immigration and global warming clash with...

In a landmark event that could have many holding their breath, Pope Francis has agreed to address a joint meeting of Congress this fall. That sets the stage for an oration by an outspoken pontiff whose views on immigration and global warming clash with...

The monsignor who spearheaded the saint-making process for El Salvador's slain Archbishop Oscar Romero said Wednesday it was Pope Benedict XVI — and not Pope Francis — who removed the final hurdle in the tortured, 35-year process. Archbishop Vincenzo...

Thirty-five years after he was gunned down by a right-wing death squad as he celebrated Mass, Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero moved a step closer to possible sainthood Tuesday when Pope Francis declared he was a martyr killed out of hatred for his...

It was a heartwarming story for legions of pet owners and animal lovers around the world.Pope Francis, talking to a distraught boy whose pet had died, declared there was a place in heaven for the creatures we share our lives with. His comment was reported...

A long-awaited report on American nuns released by the Vatican on Tuesday is being seen as an encouraging and realistic assessment of women who take vows to the church, while also urging them to adhere to Roman Catholic doctrine.
"It is not a...

Pope Francis on Monday launched a stunning attack on the cardinals, bishops and priests who run the Vatican, accusing them of succumbing to greed, jealousy, hypocrisy, cowardice and “spiritual Alzheimer's.”
In a pre-Christmas speech to the officials of...

The Benedictine sisters at St. Scholastica Monastery in Rogers Park breathed a sigh of relief Tuesday when the Vatican released its long-awaited report on American nuns.Two Vatican investigators had spent two days at the Benedictine monastery in May...

In a dramatic shift in tone, a Vatican document said on Monday that homosexuals had "gifts and qualities to offer" and asked if Catholicism could accept gays and recognize positive aspects of same-sex couples.Roman Catholic gay rights groups...

During his earliest steps toward becoming Chicago's next archbishop, Blase Cupich wasn't sure religious life was for him.
As a boy growing up in Nebraska, he and his siblings listened as their father urged them to consider a vocation in the Catholic...

What does an archbishop do when he retires? Chicagoans will be finding out for the first time, with Cardinal Francis George being the first to reach that milestone in the local church's 124-year history as an archdiocese.
George officially retired Nov....

Pope Francis has closed an assembly of Catholic bishops that revealed deep divisions on how to respond to homosexuality and divorce, saying Sunday the Church should not be afraid of change and new challenges.
Francis, who has said he wants a more...

Pope Francis married 20 couples Sunday, some of whom had already lived together and had children, in the latest sign that the Argentine pontiff wants the Catholic church to be more open and inclusive.
In the first wedding he has performed in his...

Thirty-one days, 64 games, 12 cities, 171 goals and one bizarre assault, with Uruguay's Luis Suarez biting an Italian opponent. This World Cup had it all.
Brazil, the host country, proved to be better at party planning than at soccer (who would have...